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Churches in Toronto industrial areas face zoning threat

Religious groups are worried a proposed bylaw change for industrial zones will force them out of the only buildings they can afford.

The Apostolic Church is among the houses of worship in Toronto that exists amid factories and warehouses. (RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR)

By Raja MoussaouiSpecial to the Star

Sun., Oct. 21, 2012

For years, churches have been popping up in industrial zones across Toronto. Old factories and warehouses are big and cheap, making them a perfect place for poorer, immigrant churches lacking the financial resources to build or buy a conventional building.

But the city is considering a zoning bylaw that would stop houses of worship from setting up in areas zoned for industrial use — sparking outrage among religious groups.

“Our places of worship provide a venue for spiritual growth, language and cultural advancement,” said Pastor David Loganathan, of the Tamil Pastors Fellowship of Canada. “Canada is a multicultural country, and many more people will be coming. I am thoroughly disappointed with the disregard shown to places of worship from this bylaw.”

The proposed changes are part of the city’s larger effort to harmonize 41 separate sets of bylaws that existed before Toronto’s amalgamation in 1998.

It’s a delicate balancing act for the city: Religious groups fear the changes mean they will lose the very places they gather as a community. Meanwhile, neighbouring businesses worry that leaving things as they are may limit their operations or even force them to relocate.

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The noise, dust, odour or vibrations that a factory kicks up may one day not sit well with the church next door, even if the factory has been there for years, worries Calvin Lantz, a lawyer representing the Toronto Industry Network.

Last month, Nestle initiated a campaign against a proposed condo development near its Sterling Rd. plant, concerned in part that people moving in nearby would eventually force the company to make expensive retrofits.

The encroachment of places where people gather in the community is, Lantz claims, “one of the principle reasons ... why industry leaves Toronto.”

Letting houses of worship cluster around industrial zones would “be in effect creating barriers to attracting industry to Toronto,” he says.

But the congregations say they’ve been forced to look at industrial lands because of the high cost associated with buying or renting conventional church properties.

Altogether, 15 pastors and religious leaders appeared before an Oct. 12 planning committee meeting to argue against the zoning change. That was enough to convince Councillor Peter Milczyn, committee chair, that “the bylaw as it’s been drafted now is unacceptable.” City staff will meet with representatives of faith communities to review the proposal, and eventually Toronto council will debate the issue.

“The city needs to make allowances for a place of worship and understand the real dynamics, because they provide added value to the community. They should not be seen as a nuisance,” said Pastor Audley Goulbourne, of the Lisle Memorial Baptist Church.

A City of Toronto report commissioned in 2009 shows the problem will not resolve itself. The report identified 1,260 “official” places of worship that were operating in the city in 2005, one-third of which had opened between 1995 and 2005. In 2008, no fewer than 22 per cent of Toronto’s places of worship were located in industrial areas.

“The increase in establishments of places of worship likely corresponds to large population increases in a number of religious denominations in Canada, including Muslim, Christian (including Evangelical, born-again and Apostolic), Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist,” the report said.

Similar issues have cropped up elsewhere in the GTA.

In 2010, after an uproar over the issue in Brampton, the city updated its places of worship policy to provide religious groups — especially small, emerging congregations — more flexibility in acquiring sites for future places of worship. The amendments, which permit temples, mosques and churches in more locations, including residential, commercial and certain industrial zones, followed complaints from faith groups over the lack of legal options.

In Toronto, the increase follows a trend away from manufacturing and towards warehousing and distribution, says Graham Meader, executive vice president and sales representative of Colliers International. But a warehouse needs high ceilings, something older factories lack, Meader says.

Drive around the industrial area south of Highway 407 and west of Highway 400 on a Wednesday afternoon, and the issue is apparent.

Peppered among the warehouses, scrap yards and factories are single-storey warehouses with signs out front that read, for example, “Christ Apostolic Church, Vineyard of Comfort” and “Mount Zion Ministries, Motto: True Worshippers Centre.”

On a weekday afternoon, factories are buzzing, trucks are driving goods in and out to the nearby highways — but the churches are locked up. On a Sunday, the scene switches. Cars are parked up and down the laneways next to the churches and the sounds of lively singing and instruments can be heard from the street.

Mount Zion Ministries, at 105 Kenhar Dr. in North York, opened its doors in 2008. Led by Pastor Kingsley Osayande, the church serves a mostly Nigerian congregation. When they moved in, places of worship were permitted in the industrial area under the zoning law, and the church didn’t seek any planning approvals.

While the proposed bylaw change would not evict houses of worship already approved, Osayande worries his church may eventually be forced out because it has yet to receive planning approvals under the old bylaw. The church has now applied to the city to confirm that its meets the parking and landscaping requirements.

Raja Moussaoui is a journalism fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

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